California’s minimum wage will increase from the current $6.75 an hour to $7.50 an hour on Jan. 1 and to $8 an hour on Jan. 1, 2008.
Worker's rights groups say the increase is needed given the state's high cost of living and will help out working families. Pro-business groups warn the increase will lead to job losses and higher prices.
What do you think?

I was at Valley Plaza today talking to day after Christmas shoppers.  Do you like shopping on the day after Christmas?  Do you shop that day for the sales, to return an unwanted clip on tie or to get a jump start on next year's holiday shopping?  Or do you do whatever possible to avoid the congestion and long lines and spend more time with your family?

What's the worst gift you've ever given or received?  Socks from grandma?  Breath mints from a co-worker as a not-so-subtle tip?  Did you give your wife a vacuum cleaner for your anniversary?
As a kid, I gave my aunt and uncle a tiny ugly ceramic squirrel for Christmas one year  (I believe they still have it displayed in their office, mocking me every time I see it).  One year I got heavy-duty winter gloves from a relative in the Midwest — after I had moved to California.  What's your worst (or best) bad gift story?

A recent study commissioned by the Kern Economic Development Corp. and compiled by local appraiser Gary Crabtree appears to give us the best picture to date of local homebuyers. The report included more than 1,000 new construction and existing home sales between January and June, comprising about 27 percent of the local home sales during that period.
A few highlights:
• 76.7 percent are from the Bakersfield area, 20.2 percent moved from other areas in California and 3.1 percent moved from out of state.
• Of the 20.2 percent moving from elsewhere in California, 45 percent moved from Los Angeles County, 16 percent from Ventura County, 10 percent from Northern California and 9 percent from the San Francisco Bay Area, with smaller amounts moving from Orange County, the Santa Barbara area, Monterey County, the San Diego area, Riverside County and San Bernardino County.
• 17.8 percent live locally and work outside a 35-mile radius of the Bakersfield metro area, compared to 14.5 percent who work in suburban Bakersfield and 67.7 percent who live in urban Bakersfield.
• A survey of local home buyers found 45 percent were local residents moving into higher priced homes, 19.6 percent were first-time homebuyers, 14.7 percent were moving for job-related reasons and 10.8 percent were buying properties for investments.

What do you think of the findings?  Is Bakersfield being overrun by out-of-towners moving here for cheaper housing?  How has the influx of new residents changed Bakersfield?  Is our recent retail growth from the Shops at River Walk to a proposed mega shopping center on Panama Lane and Gosford Road thanks in part to new residents moving in from other areas, increasing the local population and making Bakersfield a more attractive site for new stores and restaurants like P.F. Chang's China Bistro and California Pizza Kitchen?

What do you think of re-gifting, or giving a second-hand gift?  Have you ever done it?  Have you received one?  If so, what was your reaction?